After his spell on the
R&B club scene Carlo then drummed with various bands that were made up
of musicians who were joined together from various roots of the, now
rapidly expanding, British rock family tree. On the road often involved
sacrificing the luxuries of home, but it sure was worth it in terms of
fun...
Click
here to see all the gigs listed

Buddy
Britten & The Regents: Aug 1964Buddy
Britten & The Regents were a Merseybeat group. Like
Screaming Lord Sutch’s Savages his groups were a real breeding
ground for many great young musicians such as bass players Johnny
Vance (Vince Taylor & The Playboys) and Nick Simper of Deep
Purple. From 1962 to 1966, Buddy and his various backing bands
released ten singles but none of them made a mark in Britain.

Buddy
BrittenCarlo was with them for three months, with bass player John
Lawson from one of the later line-ups of The Savages. He didn't do
that many gigs, they were mostly in and around London. One of the
funnier times Carlo remembered with this band was during a gig at
The Rink Ballroom, Swaddlingcoat. "After the gig, we didn't
have anywhere to stay so the promoter said we could sleep in the
ballroom for the night. He locked us in and we tried to get comfy
on the floor. It was so uncomfortable that someone got up, found a
bingo machine and we had a great laugh playing bingo at three in
the morning!"

Buddy Britten & The Regents
'Since You've Gone' 1965

The Echoes: Oct 1964 - May 1965This band had just come back from South Africa backing
Dusty Springfield. Carlo: "All I can remember from this period is
that the van was breaking down all the time, so there wasn't much fun to
be had here."

Neil
Christian & Crusaders: Jun - Oct 1965
Neil Christian & The Crusaders had been a big club draw
since 1960 (one of the earliest members was Jimmy Page). Similar
in nature to that of The Savages, they played and packed-out
dance halls up and down the country. Carlo: "By the time I
joined them they were mainly doing weekend gigs, as work had
temporarily dwindled for The Crusaders at this point". But
Neil Christian's hit single 'That's Nice' was just around the
corner. The song charted around Europe and made him a minor
star. (Neil Christian and his wife Sandra later became
Godparents to Carlo's youngest daughter Emma).

It was during this time that
Carlo performed some sessions for Jimmy Page, who was now producing for
other artists. The tracks also featured Jeff Beck and Nicky Hopkins, who
had just been given the all clear after his hospitalisation which had
forced him to quit Cyril Davies' All Stars. (Read more here
or see The
Carlo Little Discography of the Immediate Records/Jimmy Page Session)

'Chuckles', 1965
All Stars featuring Jeff Beck

'Down In The Boots', 1965All Stars featuring Jimmy Page

'Piano Shuffle', 1965
All Stars featuring Nicky Hopkins

Chris Lamb & The Universals: Nov 1965 - Jun 1966
Chris Lamb & The Universals were a 7-piece Showband fronted
by trumpeter Chris Lamb, playing US bases and Irish clubs around
Kilburn from 1963 to 1968.
Bill Parkinson: "After I left P.J.Proby I auditioned with
30 other guitarists and got the with job with top Irish show
band Chris Lamb and The Universals, this was a very good tight
band with excellent musicians, On drums was Carlo Little, ex
Rolling Stones, on vocals and Trombone was Brian Keith lead
singer with Plastic Penny, on keyboards was Paul Raymond who
played with many bands and on Bass, John Lawson. The sax player
was Mort Sullivan, the leader Chris Lamb played trumpet, We
played everything from the top 20 to themes like Laurence of
Arabia and Tijuana Brass, and of course an array of Irish
music."

The Circles: Aug
- Nov 1966This line-up spent half
their time backing Sutch and Chris Lamb, but also worked as The Circles.
They cut a record called Take Your Time (see Discography).
Member Bill Parkinson went on the write the 1971 British hit single
'Mother of Mine'.Line up:
- Brian Keith aka Brian O'Shea (Vocals)
- Bill Parkinson (Lead Guitar)
- John Lawson (Bass)
- Paul Raymond (Keyboards)
- Carlo Little (Drums)

Lord Caesar
Sutch & The Roman Empire: Dec 1966 - Apr 1967

A
temporary aberration had Sutch calling himself 'Lord
Caesar Sutch' and, for publicity, the band were required
to dress as Roman Gladiators! The first gig they did was
a benefit for the wife of the late Johnny 'Shakin All
Over' Kidd, who had died in October 1966. The line-up
included Richie Blackmore, and Matthew Fisher on
keyboards who had recorded 'Whiter Shade Of Pale' with
Procol Harum during his spell here. He stayed with the
Empire for financial security until the record took off!

The
band also toured Sweden during this time. Carlo: "It was
thick snow when I went there with the Roman Empire. We were
driven around in a big American 4-wheel drive with a little
trailer for the equipment to go in towed behind. The promoter
had sent a roadie to drive it. It had snow chains on the wheels,
that's how deep the snow was. We did abut 10 days of gigs, and
always went down well with the crowds, who were really excited. We
met and talked to the 'Hep Stars' in one of the dressing rooms,
who later turned out to be members of Abba."

Carlo
went back to this group again just for a short tour of
Germany, where Christian had scored a big hit with 'That's
Nice'. During this period the band also included guitarist
Ritchie Blackmore, bassist Tony Dangerfield and pianist
Matt Smith. Before they set off for the continent in
Carlo's un-trusty old Bedford van, Christian said,
"here's ten quid - I'll see you in Berlin...and that
was to cover everything for the band to get from Wembley
to Germany! He went off in his new Mustang, of
course!" So off they went on £10 expenses.

Carlo in
Germany

On the way Carlo had a
fist fight with Tony while driving at 70 MPH, and by the
time they got there they were so exhausted they fell
asleep on a petrol station forecourt. After the tour they
finished in Hamburg and went to the Star Club and Top Ten.
The rest of the band decided to stay for a few days (they
had busty women to keep them occupied!) and Carlo went
home, complete with their instruments in the back of the
van. He didn't see them for YEARS after, and had sold
their instruments! It was while in Hamburg, not long after
these events, that Ritchie formed Deep Purple.

The Flowerpot
Men: Oct 1967 - Sept 1969The
Flowerpot Men had just had a huge hit in the British charts with 'Let's Go
To San Francsico' when Carlo joined them. It was while with this band that
Carlo met the legend Jimi Hendrix - in The Blue Boar cafe on the M1.
"All the bands would congregate there on their way back and forwards
from gigs," recalls Carlo. "It was just before The Experience
hit the big time and they must have been touring to get themselves known.
Well, Mitch Mitchell the drummer, who used to come and watch me in the
early days, recognised me. He came over with Jimi and introduced me as
'the guy who started it all off for me'. "

Doing
the usual rounds of gigs up and down the country, the touring took them to
the Latino Nightclub in South Shields, a small town just outside Newcastle
in the north-east of England. It was here that 19 year-old Iris King
worked as a croupier. Struck by her beauty, Carlo asked her out, and they
were married within 6 months! The wedding, in Wembley on 20 July 1968,
made the national papers, due to the number of stars that turned up. Noel
Redding from the Hendrix Experience was there. Jon Lord played the organ
for them (the church organ had broken down, so he plugged in his!), and
Flowerpot singer Tony Burrows (who later had hits with song Love Grows
Where My Rosemary Goes and the group Brotherhood Of Man) gave the bride
away!

Carlo
marries Iris King, July 20th 1968

review
of a Flowerpot Men gig, 1967

The Flowerpot Men on Tour
Carlo on drums, Nick Simper on bass, Ged Peck on guitar